The missile uses 'Fire and Forget' principle, altering its kinetic energy as per the requirement.

New Delhi, April 21: Brahmos supersonic cruise missile, a two-stage missile intended to be used as land-attack weapon, was successfully test fired by the Indian Navy on Friday. The test fire was carried out from a stealth frigate in the Bay of Bengal. A top Navy official, while speaking to PTI, confirmed about the success of Brahmos supersonic test-fire. The land attack missile produced the desired result on being test fired, he reportedly said.

Brahmos supersonic cruise missile is capable of being launched at a supersonic speed, due to the use of solid propellant booster engine. The biggest advantage of Brahmos is that the missile is equipped with liquid ramjet, which takes the speed of missile to as close as 3 Mach in cruise phase. The land-attack weapon is embedded with advanced software, which controls its movement in a swift manner.

Brahmos’ flight range is reported to be 290 km. The missile maintains supersonic speed throughout the flight, which leads to shorter time frame of attacks, quicker engagement and lower dispersion of targets. The missile uses ‘Fire and Forget’ principle, altering its kinetic energy as per the requirement.

Key facts to know:

The cruising altitude of Brahmos could be as high as 15 km, whereas, the terminal altitude goes down to a minimum of 10 meters. The conventional warhead attached to the missile weighs 200 to 300 kgs.

As compared to other subsonic cruise missiles, BRAHMOS has 3 times more velocity, 4 times more seeker range, 2.5times higher the flight range and 9 times stronger the kinetic energy.